But first the fun part! Last month's Commodore's Ball was a huge success--it was a sellout! As you know, this is the Club's way to show our best side to the Commodores of the Grand XIV--and were they impressed! Thanks also to all of the wonderful members who came to this event. Your Club, Cammy and I were honored by your presence. Thanks as well Crystal and P/C Bob Yates for all the hard work you put into creating a memorable event. To everyone who worked on the party (see Crystal's article in this edition), thank you--you did your Club proud and after all, the party is about the Club; not the Commodore. Thanks to QCYC Chef Willie Williamson and of course Peg--what great food! I would be remiss if I did not thank Club Manager Jess Hill for all the time and effort he spent helping us select the table wines for dinner and to Bar Manager Cary Gould and Assistant Bar Manager Gerry Dishneau for their wonderful service to such a large crowd. Finally, thank you P/C David Krows and lovely Margaret Krows. You know why. (He will think I want something)

Thank you to Club Secretary Eric Wood and his beautiful bride Barbara. You keep our outstation with care and pride and give countless hours of honest devotion to the Club. We could not get along without you.

Way back in September, the P/C dinner was wonderful, thanks to the P/Cs and I especially want to single out PC Lengtis and Captain Gene Cotton for cooking such a great Greek dinner and all of the Past Commodores who put the event on. The First Annual Closing Day was a total hoot. Parade King and Queen Nick and Laurie Castrow were regal--actually you can't call Nick in a pair of red long-johns regal. Captain Hess' official QCYC parade vehicle gets better with each outing. The Tarettes' cheerleaders saluted the King and Queen, as only they can and the QCYC kids marching team was impressive. The sight of Jess Hill and Jerry Zuvich on their inflatable parade float is something I won't soon forget--actually I have nightmares about it. Linda Roehl as garden queen was resplendent. And of course, no parade would be the same without the Sea Fair Clown. The closing act, unbelievable as it seems for such a new event, was the appearance---straight from Dancing on the Stars----our own QCYC Precision Dock Cart Drill Team dressed in red/white/blue, complete with capes and kazoos. The lovely Margaret Krows raised more than $300 for the Boyer Children’s school by selling "space on the logboom" The day was capped off by the best barbeque imaginable, courtesy of Captains Dick Geving and Gene Cotton. And get this-----we have already had requests from other clubs who would like to send a parade entry for next year!

Way to go Membership Committee and its Chair Mark LaFountaine, Vice Commodore Dale Roberts, Rear Commodore Ed Jennerich on bringing in 11 new members! Great job member sponsors. See Rear Commodore Jennerich's report for details.

Looking forward to November, we have a busy social month. The Tarettes' Country Store and Friday Night Social are on Friday November 9. There is a Fleet Captain's "land cruise" to the Coast Guard Museum. If you want a fun way to participate in a different type of event, come to the clubhouse Christmas decorating party on November 27. And remember, Willie is cooking Saturday breakfast and the clubhouse is open every Sunday for brunch during the NFL season.

December kicks off with the UW vs University of Hawaii game Fleet Captains luau and Hawaiian karaoke party on Saturday December 1--you are encouraged to wear tropical garb and bring your best ukulele and made-up lyrics. Look for flyers at the clubhouse, on-line or in this edition of the Bilge Pump. On Sunday December 2 we have the Special People's cruise chaired by Bill Field. On December 7 & 8 we set course on the Chet Gibson Lighted Boat Parade chaired by Dave Padgett. On Saturday afternoon December 8, we have the Children's Christmas Party chaired by Sandy Werner.

We are in the budget season and your Bridge Officers are working to get the projects identified and budgeted. The capital projects that are under consideration, in the planning process, the budget process, or about to get underway, are as follows:

In-station
Enclose dumpsters
Screen mechanical equipment on hillside
Replace dock pile caps as programmed/needed
Replace dock planking as needed
Dock alarm system
Complete repairs to dock 2 electrical
Re-route dock 1 waterline
Re-landscape plan for west hillside
Seal, repair cracks and re-stripe parking lot
Create nautical main entry with canopy, entry walkway and landscaping
Replace QCYC entry mat
Finish Boyer entry canvas project
Upgrade computer systems
Improve workspace in office and on third floor
Finish insurance company recommendations
Organize club archives
Investigate spider eradication program

Winslow Outstation
Replace transverse dock
Refresh galley equipment
Install wireless mike system
Install projection screen
Create wi-fi system free to members of QCYC
Design, review and construct shelving and enclosures for books and videos
Create/better utilize storage facilities
Replace QCYC entry mat
Install dock gate exit button and local alarm
Finish insurance company recommendations

The fire vent design plan for the covered moorages at the in-station was completed and submitted by Rod Hilden's committee last winter. Of all covered marinas, only QCYC and SYC have submitted plans. When we get approval from the Fire Marshall, the installation of the vents will occur, accompanied by the replacement of several roofs.

We are in the midst of developing a budget to address these and other projects identified in the reserve study. We have a lot of deferred maintenance and deferred replacement items and the Bridge is committed to pursuing these items in an orderly ongoing fashion.

With all of this going on, opportunities abound for you to get in touch with what it means to be a member of QCYC. Get involved. Don’t know how? Contact the Vice Commodore and Rear Commodore or the committee chairs. There is a lot of fun to be had helping out and just a lot of good plain fun all around. Hope to see you all soon.

Bill McGillin
Commodore

Before getting into the business side of this article, I want to thank all the members who helped stage an absolutely wonderful Commodore’s Ball in October. It was a great way to honor the position of Commodore and recognize and thank Bill and Cammy for the efforts they are giving to make Queen City Yacht Club such a special club.

Regarding the clubhouse, Jim Damery has been busy making minor changes needed to improve operations and make sure that certain functions are more user friendly. Our Club Manager, Jess Hill, has the social side of the Clubhouse up and running and we should all thank him and his crew for their long hours tending at the bar, and also recognize the financial contribution they make to the economic side of our organization. Right next to the bar at social events, is our Ship’s Store. This is another committee that puts in untold hours and I would like to thank Lois Stettner, the chair and her crew, Irene Nelson and Joie Roehl for providing such a large inventory of club logo-wear and other items for sale.

Around the docks you’ll find Randy Garvie and his committee organizing several projects that are either necessary for insurance requirements, for ongoing maintenance or for the general upgrade of our dock facilities. They will be starting with the replacement of the water-line on Dock 1. Plans are being made for continuing the pile cap replacement and other structural modifications needed for docks that are in their fifth decade of service.

Moorage Chair P/C Scott Grimm, with his committee and my direction, will be revisiting the always difficult issue of “inactive boats”, otherwise known as “storage boats.” As uncomfortable as it is, enforcing the ”Inactive Boat” rule is necessary to ensure that active members can expect that moorage will be available in a timely manner. Active members are what make our club viable, and moorage is what attracts many of us in the first place. It is easy to avoid being tagged as an “inactive boat” by doing the following; use your boat to cruise or cruise to a club function, and maintain your boat in a seaworthy condition. It would also be helpful to get involved with one of our committees.

Don’t forget to leave a local emergency contact number posted on the dock side of your boat, and if you are going to be away for an extended period of time, ask someone to look after your boat. If you are on a moorage waiting list and do not have, or will be away from email access, please assign another member to act on your behalf. Finally, if you want to get involved, contact a member of the Bridge or a Committee Chair. You can also email me at vicecommodore@queencity.org.

Dale Roberts
Vice Commodore

With the Change of Watch completed, we’re now involved with the many details and decisions of creating a budget for 2007-2008. The budget obviously drives our projects agenda since there are always more needs than there are dollars available. In my areas of responsibility (grounds, membership and security), we have several significant projects in the early planning stages and await the final deliberations of the Bridge, the Planning & Finance Committee and the Board. I’ll keep you posted as things progress.

GROUNDS

As you’ve visited the Club in the past several weeks, you will have noticed the vast improvement in the appearance of the Club grounds. This is due to the outstanding work of Linda Roehl, Grounds Chair, and her gang of 42 who helped with the grounds clean-up on Sept. 22 or who donated to the cause – you did a great job! Since then, we’ve had Francisco and his crew come in and complete some of the heavy work to get things cut back to where they need to be. We’ll keep you posted as we work toward a more permanent solution for the hill. The folks who participated in the grounds work party were:
Dave Armstrong, Allan & Yvonne Bender, Jim Damery, Walt & Yvette Doolittle, Richard Frisch, Dennis Grendahl, Jeff Grimm, Scott Grimm, Gary & Elaine Halverson, Stephen Hanson, Dave & Virginia Harris, Randy & Janette Jamerson, Ed Jennerich, Bob Mihailov, Bill McGillin & Cammy Mowery, Dave & Irene Nelson, Gary Nelson, Suellen Purvis, Dave & Gay Rathje, Dale & Susie Roberts, Denny & Joie Roehl, Tim & Nadeane Rutledge, Gary Stevens, Mark Stevens, Gary Stone, Bob Svendsen, Dave Svendsen, Denny & Dale Ward, and Tom Youngs. We also received contributions to the grounds effort from Jim Bailey, Mark Dales, Jeff Purvis, Carolyn Sonstegard, and Annette Wallick. Thanks also go to P/C Al Smith who donated the proceeds of the September 26th Quarter Pot which were put in the Grounds budget. My apologies if I’ve inadvertently omitted anyone.

I’d also like to thank Joie and Denny Roehl, with the able assistance of Jim Damery & Tom Youngs, for their outstanding work on the grounds shed. It took three days to get things cleaned out, peg board installed, and our equipment neatly organized and inventoried. It looks GREAT! Joie also cajoled the dumpster company into providing us with new, great-looking containers.

It is increasingly apparent that the parking lot is in need of repair and re-striping. Once approved in the budget, this will involve some inconvenience as vehicles will have to be restricted. When the time comes to start, I’ll keep the membership informed and minimize, as much as possible, the resultant inconveniences.

MEMBERSHIP

We’ve started the year off in grand fashion, inducting 11 new members in October. Great work by Membership Chair, Mark LaFountaine! If we can do as well at every meeting, we’ll reach our Active Membership cap of 400 in no time! (no pressure, Mark!)

While the number of new members inducted in October is impressive, we also had as many members move to Senior Life Membership status. As happens each year when the annual dues notices are mailed, we experience some membership withdrawals or resignations. When the dust settles, I anticipate we’ll have 40 available membership vacancies to fill in order to bring us up to our membership cap of 400. In addition to the lost fellowship aspects of 40 potential members, there’s the lost financial aspect of $120,000 in initiation fees, plus dues. Let’s continue to help Mark narrow the gap. Remember—the #1 reason people don’t join organizations is that nobody asks them to join! Let’s all continue to go out and ask.

Chris Benson did a great job filling in for the vacationing Mark LaFountaine at the October new member induction ceremony. Congratulations to our new Captains:

• Virginia Harris
• James van Wagenen
• Larry Houk
• Steve Coughlin
• Rick Anderson
• Kurk Hanson
• Brint Field
• Brooke Kimes
• Pat Wilson
• Kim Bowden
• Douglas Scott

We look forward to getting to know you and your first mates. We have a great Club and encourage you to become actively involved at QCYC. Welcome Aboard!

SECURITY

Under the very able leadership of chair Dick Geving, we’re investigating several upgrades to security both here and at Winslow, including alarms on the docks at the in-station, real-time updates to & from Winslow & the main security computer, hardware updates to the security computer in the office. All of these are currently under budgetary review in the budget process. As is done every year, the Bridge is currently evaluating and reviewing all of our Security Policies & Procedures.

Fair winds,

Ed Jennerich
Rear Commodore

Members inducted 10/10/2007

Captains’ Virgina Harris, James Van Wagenen, Larry Houk, Stephen Coughlin, Rick Anderson,
Douglas Scott, Kurt Hanson, Brint Field, Brooke Kimes, Pat Wilson and Captain Bowden